Will I See You Tonight
by power ballad contest
Summary: Edward has spotted the girl of his dreams, on a train. But will he forever watch her, without approaching her?


**The 80's Power Ballad Contest: Twilight Edition**

**The song: ****Downtown Train****, a single released in 1989 by Rod Stewart, but originally released by Tom Waits in 1985, on his album ****Rain Dogs.**

**Will I See You Tonight**

**Word count: 2312**

**Rated: T**

**Bella/Edward canon**

**Summary:**** Edward has spotted the girl of his dreams, on a train. But will he forever watch her, without approaching her?**

**Disclaimer:**** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Based on the characters created by Stephenie Meyer, in her ****Twilight Saga**** series of books.**

The full moon was high in the Brooklyn sky, not that most people noticed it through lights of the city. But Edward noticed it. He saw it, as it rose above the rooftops near the train station. Huge and yellow. It was almost time for the late night downtown train to arrive—her train. He climbed from the window of his apartment and made his way along the side of the building, then up to the roof. He could hear the minds of those around him. He knew no one had seen him. No one had ever seen him, not the way he really was anyway. Even those that caught a glimpse of him had denied it to themselves. In their minds, they placed a fire escape where there was none.

Edward always found it strange how the human mind simply placed things in an image, when there was no other logical explanation. There was no fire escape to the roof, but they still saw one. They always saw one. He laughed to himself, and hurried to his place on the roof. From there, he would be able to see her as she got off the train and walked home. He would watch. Only watch.

He stood tall, as the moonlight made his pale white skin shine. Nothing like the way he would glisten in the sunlight, but still, his skin had a glow to it. "Like a shiny new dime," his mother would have said. Not his vampire mother Esme, but his human mother. But she had been gone for close to a century now. Dead in the influenza epidemic, along with his father. Again he laughed to himself. He felt good tonight. He had fed earlier, and was well sated. Then he heard it—the train.

And the fear started. For as long as he had watched her, he still worried that she may not be there. "Will I see you tonight?" He whispered to himself. "Will you see me?" Every night it was the same. Every night since the first time her saw her, he waited, and watched. He followed her, first out of curiosity, then because he feared for her safety. He convinced himself that he was keeping her safe. He knew it was a lie, but he didn't care. Anything to be near her.

Edward watched as the train ground to a stop, and it's passengers began to disembark. The train was full of girls coming home from work at the factories, or from the streets. Their minds swirled with their hopes and dreams, of breaking out of this place—this neighborhood, this life-into something better. To another world. Edward noticed that the train was fuller than usual. More minds clamoring for something better than this life they led.

He had been down in the crowd the first time he caught her scent; the first time he saw her. He had waved his hands and the girls had moved out of his way, scattering, to leave him a clear path. Never coming within two feet of him. They had nothing for him. Not even their blood could capture his dead heart. But her. She was the rose among the thorns. Every night Edward stood his vigil, searching for her. Waiting for her. He knew where she sat on the train. Always the same seat, her profile framed by the window. For a moment, he allowed himself to dream. To wonder, if she knew about him, would she choose him? Could he ever be her only one? Then he returned to reality, and searched for her again.

Edward spotted her as she came off the train. He took a deep breath and tried to pull her scent from the stink of the city. Even from this distance, he was able to pull just a hint of her essence into his nostrils. He smiled as her scent filled him with desires he thought long dead, just like his heart.

She was moving. Edward watched as she walked down the street to her home. She lived close. Down the street one block, turn left then over two blocks. He jumped from rooftop to rooftop, as he followed her home. He knew the route well. He had been watching her for months. He knew her street. He knew the short wrought iron fence and rusty hinged gate. He had followed the steps to her door. He had been in her home, bathing in her scent. Later he had felt guilty for entering her home without her knowledge, but he had to acclimate himself to her scent. It was so strong; it drew him to her. Held him fast. He visited her home often.

As she approached her gate, Edward jumped down from the roof of the house he was on, and walked toward the intersection near her house. He watched her open the rusty gate and walk up the four steps to her door. He stood in the light of the blinking four-way stop light, daring her to see him. She never noticed him. She never looked back to see him. As his dreams fell like rain around him, he stood and listened to the minds of the others, as they returned to their homes. Some were tired and he heard their dreams come quickly, as they had fallen asleep as soon as they laid on their beds. Others spent time with those members of their families that were still awake at such a late hour. Some went to a bar on the corner just a half block away from the house that mattered. They drowned their broken dreams in beer and false camaraderie.

Edward watched as she took out her key and opened her door. Then she was gone. He felt such a sense of loss that his chest felt tight, the pain nearly folding him in half.

"Lonely, is that what I'm feeling?"He murmured to himself. "Is this what it feels like to feel loneliness?"Hishead cocked to the side, as he listened to the other humans, looking for this thing he felt. He found it in other minds, those that lived alone. "Do you feel it?" He asked himself. "You live alone, do you wish for someone?" Edward wished, for the thousandth time, that he could hear her thoughts. That he could know how she felt. But it was useless. She was closed to him. He left the intersection and took up a post on her roof. He would watch through the night, making sure that she remained safe.

#

A new night, just like the night before. The moon is almost full. Edward climbs out his window, and works his way to the roof. Again he takes his post, to wait for her. He hears the train and watches as it grinds to a stop. It's not quite as full tonight. He sees her in her usual window. As she leaves the train, he pulls her scent into his lungs and smiles. Maybe tonight will be the night when she looks back and sees him. She's leaving the train station and headed for home. She waves and yells goodnight to her friends, but leaves the station alone. She always walks home alone. He jumps from rooftop to rooftop, as he watches her walk home. No one approaches her.

"Are you lonely?" He whispers in her direction. "Can you hear me?" He wants to call to her, but can't bring himself to do it. He notices that she is walking slower tonight. "Are you hurt?" he whispers. "Are you tired?" Concern fills his voice, but he still cannot bring himself to speak above a whisper. He watches, only watches. Edward jumps silently to the intersection near her house. He stands in the light of the flashing four-way light. He watches her as she pulls out her key and opens her door. But she pauses for a moment, before she enters her house. Then she goes in and closes the door behind her.

Edward takes his place on the roof of her house. Again he feels the pain of loneliness.

"Can you hear me now?" He whispers as he lies on her roof. He listens as she walks around her home. He remembers it completely. He hears her opening the refrigerator, to get a snack before bed. He hears her eating her food, then cleaning up after herself. He hears her walk up the stairs to her room. He hears her change her clothes and get into bed. The sounds awaken those human desires that have no place in his existence. He pushes them away and concentrates on the sounds. He hears her flip through the pages of a book. He wonders if she is reading _Wuthering Heights_. He remembers seeing it on her night stand. He listens as the sound of her heart evens out, and her breathing becomes more shallow, with a soft snore.

Edward loves the sound of her as she sleeps. This is one of his most loved moments. She talks in her sleep. He loves to listen to her one-sided conversations with her subconscious.

"Who are you?" he hears from her. "What do you want from me?" He flips quickly to his belly and places his ear against the roof, listening more intently. "Don't go," she whispers in her dreams. "Who are you?"

Dawn is coming. Edward knows it's time to go. He pushes himself off the roof and returns to his apartment. He has a lot to think on today. A lot to consider before night comes, and he has to watch for her downtown train.

#

The moon is obviously no longer full. Even the humans would be able to see the difference now, if they cared to look up. But this is Brooklyn, no one looks at the moon. No one looks up. No one will see him, not even her. It's almost time for her train. Edward slips out his window and back to the roof. It's the same as every other night. Waiting for her, watching for her, following her. She's even slower tonight. Edward is even more worried.

"Why do you walk so slow?" His words are no more than a rustle of his lips and a soft puff of air. "Please say that you are well. That there is nothing wrong with you." Frustration is getting the better of him. The words have come out louder than he thought. This time they were nearly as loud as a quiet human whisper.

She stumbles, but catches herself before she falls. He's familiar with her clumsiness. It terrifies him, but he knows that it's all part of the uniqueness that is her. But it still causes him to catch his breath every time it happens. She pauses at the corner, his corner. His four-way stop corner. He watches as she looks out across the street, and up at the flashing red light. If he had a functioning heart, it would have come to a very abrupt stop. For a moment, he dares to hope. In a flash he sees them together. He holds her in his arms, her body heat warming his ice cold skin. He looks into her large brown eyes, and kisses her soft pink lips. Then reality strikes and he sees her looking down the block to the bar that is only half a block from her home.

_NO!_ His mind cries out to him. He falls to his knees on the roof overlooking the intersection, his face in his hands. "No!" He whispers. "Please!"

He pulls his hands away in time to see her shake her head slowly, and turn and walk to the second house on the block. Her home. Joy spreads through his entire body. His breathing speeds up and he can almost taste his desire to reach for her and show her how happy she has made him, with such a simple choice. But he catches himself and remembers his place. He is still a monster in the night. A stalker extraordinaire. The joy is gone, replaced by guilt and shame. But he can't stop—won't stop. He will spend the rest of his existence making sure that she is safe, for the rest of her life. And he will hope.

She passes through her rusty gate and up the four steps. Edward jumps down to the intersection and watches as she pulls out her key to unlock her door. He prepares for the pain of loneliness as she opens the door, but then she stops again.

"My name is Bella," she whispers to her open door.

Edward stops, dead still. "Is there someone in your house?" He whispers as he reaches out to feel another mind. There is nothing.

"Who are you?" She says a touch louder. Then she turns to him. She sees him.

"Who are you?" She asks louder.

Edward looks around him, but there is no one but him within a block of her.

Her eyes never leave him, drawing him closer. He can't stop the pull she has on him. He finds himself taking slow, small steps toward her, as their eyes remain locked together.

"What is your name?" She smiles at him.

"Edward," he whispers to her. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes." she whispers, and enters her house.

Edward freezes in his tracks. She has left him on the street, in front of her house. She is gone. Then he sees it. The door. She has left the door open. Then he hears it from inside her house. The most beautiful voice he has ever heard. The most beautiful words ever spoken.

"Don't keep me waiting any longer."

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